Misinformation and Mass Audiences by Brian G. Southwell Emily A. Thorson & Laura Sheble

Author:Brian G. Southwell, Emily A. Thorson & Laura Sheble [Southwell, Brian G.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: University of Texas Press
Published: 2017-02-17T05:00:00+00:00

NINE

Misinformation and Science

Emergence, Diffusion, and Persistence

LAURA SHEBLE

In science, misinformation sometimes arises and spreads from scientific fraud, such as the purposeful publication of studies based on fabricated (“invented”) or false (prejudicially selected) data and misleading claims (Bornmann, 2013; Fang, Steen, & Casadevall, 2012; Gross, 2016). In other circumstances, misinformation about scientific findings may arise as reports of study results are shared with different audiences (Hilgartner, 1990), or as novel yet preliminary study results are broadcast widely and later turn out to be false (Schwartz, Woloshin, & Baczek, 2002). When the findings of scientific studies have direct implications in domains that intersect with powerful vested interests, such as those related to climate change (Farrell, 2016; Oreskes, 2004), tobacco products (Cummings, Brown, & O’Connor, 2007), and the pharmaceutical industry (Barnes & Bero, 1998; Lundh, Sismondo, Lexchin, Busuioc, & Bero, 2012), systematic campaigns, and even conspiracies (Cummings et al., 2007) may influence public perceptions and cast doubt on research findings even when there is a broad consensus within science.

More mundane circumstances also lead to the emergence, diffusion, and persistence of misinformation within science. Such circumstances may be associated with the passage of time, such as outdated information, or originate in accidental misrepresentations (Nguyen & Ho-Pham, 2012), misinterpretations (Cooper & Rosenthal, 1980), or overinterpretations of research (e.g., Henrich, Heine, & Norenzayan, 2010). Limitations associated with research tools and practices can also generate inaccuracies (e.g., Fidler, Burgman, Cumming, Buttrose, & Thomason, 2006). The conservative nature of science, and the resistance of specialists within a field to accept findings contrary to established beliefs, highlight the need for the accumulation of evidence in support of new ideas and the persistence of established but potentially suboptimal beliefs (e.g., Genuis, 2005). Biases such as publication bias (Sterling, 1959), also referred to as “the file drawer problem” (Rosenthal, 1979), can also introduce misinformation.

As indicated above, there is the potential for misinformation to enter the science system in a wide variety of circumstances that range from cases of outright fraud to attempts to communicate research findings to broader audiences by journalists and others. Misinformation may persist within science, thereby influencing subsequent work as well as spreading and swaying beliefs in the public sphere. Once purportedly scientific misinformation enters public discourse, misperceptions of scientific knowledge and their effects may be difficult to counter. The misperceptions may be aggravated by the presentation of falsely “balanced” expert testimony (e.g., Thorson, this volume; Weeks, this volume), argumentation from vocal science dissidents (Jones, 2002), and laypersons’ approaches to evaluations of science (e.g., Horlick-Jones, Walls, & Kitzinger, 2007). Professional contexts such as clinical medicine, in which the decisions of health care providers would ideally be informed by the best available scientific evidence, are challenged by lags in synthesis and diffusion of relevant evidence (Antman, Lau, Kupelnick, Mosteller, & Chalmers, 1992). Direct-to-physician (DTP) and direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising by vested interests such as pharmaceutical and medical-device companies may further heighten challenges to the application of unbiased science-based evidence to application contexts (Boudewyns et al., this volume).

After a brief overview of

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